Eggs, hard cheese, black pepper, and bacon or pancetta clinging to hot spaghetti. No cream. A weeknight carbonara from fridge staples — pull the pan off the heat before you add the eggs or you get scramble.
Eggs, hard cheese, black pepper, and bacon or pancetta clinging to hot spaghetti. No cream. A weeknight carbonara from fridge staples — pull the pan off the heat before you add the eggs or you get scramble.
Calories
620
Protein
28g
Fat
28g
Carbs
64g
In a bowl, whisk whole eggs, extra yolk, grated cheese, and a lot of black pepper until it looks like a thick paste. Set it next to the stove. This mixture cooks from pasta heat, not from the burner.
Cook diced bacon in a cold skillet set over medium heat, stirring, until the fat renders and the pieces are browned, 6–8 minutes. Turn off the heat. Leave the fat in the pan.
Boil spaghetti in well-salted water until al dente. Before draining, save 1 1/2 cups starchy pasta water. Drain the pasta.
Add hot pasta to the bacon skillet (heat still off). Toss in the fat. Wait 15 seconds so it is hot but not scorching, then pour in the egg mixture while tossing hard. Add pasta water a splash at a time until you get a glossy sauce that coats every strand — not scrambled eggs, not soup.
Taste. It should be salty from cheese and bacon; add pepper, not salt, unless it is bland. Plate and extra cheese on top. Carbonara waits for no one.
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